Motorbase switches to all new Ford EcoBoost engine for 2015
By MJP Media | 21 January 2015
Motorbase Performance has confirmed today that its Ford Focus ST BTCC squad will be powered by Ford's latest EcoBoost engines in 2015, making this the engine's first UK appearance in the UK's premier motor racing series.
The 2014 Motorbase-prepared Airwaves Racing Ford Focus STs
Motorbase Performance's team principal David Bartrum has announced that the squad's Ford Focus ST touring cars will benefit from Ford EcoBoost engines for their 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign. Starting with a standard Ford 2-litre EcoBoost engine' development work has been carried out during the closed season by mountune to ensure that the engine meets NGTC specifications, with technical partners Samco Sport, Pro Alloy and Specialty Fasteners all providing crucial background assistance throughout the process.
With the first engine build and preliminary in-house tests now complete, the Motorbase squad is preparing to embark on a significant pre-season testing programme ahead of the opening round of the 2015 BTCC season at the team's local Brands Hatch circuit on April 4/5. "It's been a busy winter for us behind the scenes, but I'm delighted to be in a position to finally go public with this very exciting development for Motorbase. The Ford EcoBoost engine has been a long time in the planning and it's only really come together in recent months thanks to the great teamwork and input from mountune and our technical partners.", commented Bartrum.
The Ford EcoBoost engine being used by Motorbase for the 2015 BTCC season
This latest project marks another new era in the highly successful heritage between Motorbase Performance, mountune and the Blue Oval and initial tests on the direct injection system have produced some promising results. "There's still more development to do before the start of the season" explained mountune technical director, David Mountain. "Having said that, we're confident that by the first round we'll have a strong package available, from which we can build during the course of the season."
Bartrum added: "It's early days yet and we've obviously still got a long way to go in terms of testing and development but it's great news for Motorbase, Ford and the BTCC and I'm confident that we'll be back in the thick of it once more when the flag drops in April."
Fabrizio Giovanardi's 2014 Ford Focus ST
Having already confirmed that former sports-car driver Alex Martin will race one of the three Motorbase built Ford Focus STs in 2015, the team has told us that the full driver line-up and new team sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks.
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